PARIS , France -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Three French journalists charged in an alleged plot to kidnap African children for adoption in Europe arrived in Paris on Sunday , hours after French President Nicolas Sarkozy held emergency talks in Chad .

But 14 other people remained in custody in the African nation , some facing serious charges that could send them to jail for up to 20 years .

The journalists were among seven Europeans a Chadian judge released Sunday , including a Spanish flight crew , whom Sarkozy dropped off in a brief stop in Madrid on his way back from Chad .

All were arrested last week after workers from Zoe 's Ark -- a French-based charity group -- were accused of trying to fly 103 children out of Chad in a kidnapping and adoption operation . Watch a report on how the events unfolded ''

Some of the children may never return to their families because it is too difficult to determine their backgrounds , Red Cross spokeswoman Inah Kaloga told CNN on Friday .

Those who remain under arrest in Chad are six members of the French charity , four Chadians and four remaining members of the flight crew . Some face kidnapping and fraud charges .

Zoe 's Ark leader Eric Breteau testified Saturday to a court in the Chadian capital that the three journalists and the flight crew of seven Spaniards and a Belgian were not involved in the alleged plot , court witnesses told CNN .

At least some of the flight crew are scheduled to testify before a judge on Monday .

The three journalists initially had been charged with complicity in the alleged kidnapping attempt . It 's not clear if the charges against them have been dropped . Watch the freed Europeans leave Chad ''

In a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Sunday at Madrid 's Torrejon Air Force Base , Sarkozy expressed satisfaction that some of those detained had been released .

At the same time , however , he told reporters , `` We should respect the sovereignty of Chad . ''

Zapatero thanked Sarkozy for dropping the four Spanish flight crew members off in their home country , and thanked Chadian President Idriss Deby for allowing them to return .

After his emergency talks in Chad , Sarkozy stressed the scandal would not affect the strong relations between the two countries or affect the planned deployment of a European force to protect refugees from Sudan 's Darfur region who have fled to Chad and the neighboring Central African Republic .

Sarkozy also said he hoped the six remaining French nationals -- all from Zoe 's Ark -- would face trial in France .

The charity says that the children were orphans from the Darfur region -- where the United Nations estimates 200,000 people have been killed in four years of conflict -- and that the group was taking them to host families in France .

But after preliminary interviews with the children , aid agencies said Thursday it appeared most of them probably are not orphans and not from Sudan , but instead come from villages on the Chadian side of the border with Sudan .

The children are staying in an Abeche orphanage while aid agencies and government officials try to find out where they came from -- a challenge hindered by the number of children , their youth , and the volatile situation in the region .

A father of three of the children allegedly kidnapped told a French newspaper he put his children into the charity 's care after he was told they would be educated at a school under construction in a nearby town .

The Chadian man , who gave his name as Arbab , told Le Parisien on Sunday that workers from Zoe 's Ark had visited his village three times .

`` They never said they would take away our children , '' he told the newspaper . E-mail to a friend

CNN 's Nic Robertson and Al Goodman contributed to this report .

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NEW : French president returns to France with three released journalists

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Journalists are among seven Europeans freed Sunday in child `` kidnap '' row

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There are still 14 other people in custody in Chad

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Father : `` They never said they would take away our children ''